Things are looking up in the US, according to an index of lead indicators for economic growth in October. The results largely beat forecasters’ expectations and sparked an optimistic adjustment to 2012 outlooks.

Despite debt troubles at home and abroad the US economy has shown an impressive resilience to the negativity. Nine of the 10 economic indicators in the index showed increases in October.

The Conference Board reported Friday that its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.9% in October, significantly better than the revised 0.1% rise in September and the 0.3% increase in August.

“Gains in consumer spending, manufacturing and homebuilding, combined with fewer job losses, point to an economy that is weathering the turbulence in financial markets caused by the debt crisis in Europe,” reportsBloomberg. There were also improvements in household sentiment, stock prices, building permits, consumer expectations, the yield curve, factory hours and supplier delivery times.

The US job market is the only area that did not see significant improvement. Payrolls increased by 80,000 in October, the smallest advance in four months. However the unemployment rate yielded a small victory: it fell from September 9.1% down to 9.0% in October.

Improving Future Outlook

“Data in recent weeks have been better than forecast, suggesting the economy is picking up even more this quarter,” reported Bob Willis of Bloomberg. “Retail sales in October rose 0.5 per cent, helped by the biggest jump in electronics purchases in two years, while industrial production increased 0.7 per cent, reports showed this week. Building permits, a sign of future construction, rose 11 per cent while housing starts fell a less-than-forecast 0.3 per cent, a Commerce Department report showed.

Thanks to an improvement in household sentiment the University of Michigan index of consumer expectations for six months from now climbed to 56.2 in November, a five-month high, from 51.8 in October.

Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board, said that the latest leading indicators report was pointing “to continued growth this winter, possibly even gaining a little momentum by spring.”

Investing Ideas

So, if you believe that things are looking up for the U.S., where do you start to find investing ideas?

To help get you started, we collected data on about 200 high-growth stocks, with projected earnings per share growth exceeding 20% over the next five years.

In addition, all of these stocks have seen significant buying from both insider executives and institutional investors.

Smart money investors seem to think these high growth stocks stand to benefit from U.S. economic growth–do you agree?

1. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO): Develops, and distributes interactive entertainment software, hardware, and accessories worldwide. Earnings per share projected to grow at 22.14% over the next five years. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 7.3M shares, which represents about 9.31% of the company’s float of 78.45M shares. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 458,749 shares, which represents about 0.58% of the company’s 78.45M share float.

2. Kronos Worldwide Inc. (KRO): Engages in the production and marketing of titanium dioxide pigments in North America and Europe. Earnings per share projected to grow at 20.50% over the next five years. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 751.1K shares, which represents about 3.5% of the company’s float of 21.47M shares. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 15,293 shares, which represents about 0.07% of the company’s 21.47M share float.

3. Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (QCOR): Provides prescription drugs for central nervous system and inflammatory disorders. Earnings per share projected to grow at 41.25% over the next five years. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 4.1M shares, which represents about 7.37% of the company’s float of 55.62M shares. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 181,875 shares, which represents about 0.33% of the company’s 55.62M share float.

4. Rex Energy Corporation (REXX): Operates as an independent oil and gas company in the Appalachian, Illinois, and Denver-Julesburg Basins. Earnings per share projected to grow at 55.0% over the next five years. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 4.8M shares, which represents about 13.73% of the company’s float of 34.97M shares. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 77,325 shares, which represents about 0.22% of the company’s 34.97M share float.

5. Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IDIX): Engages in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral and other infectious diseases in the United States and Europe. Earnings per share projected to grow at 29.0% over the next five years. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 3.3M shares, which represents about 5.47% of the company’s float of 60.35M shares. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 38,076 shares, which represents about 0.06% of the company’s 60.35M share float.

Interactive Chart: Press Play to see how analyst ratings have changed for the stocks mentioned above. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.